Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday visited the scene of a fire in a shopping mall that killed at least 64 people, and hit out at "criminal negligence" which he said was to blame for the high death toll. Investigators looking into a fire, one of the deadliest in Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union, said fire exits at the mall had been illegally blocked and the fire alarm system had not functioned properly. The fire swept through the upper floors of the Winter Cherry shopping centre in the city of Kemerovo, where a cinema complex and children's play area were located, on Sunday afternoon. Dozens of children were feared to be among the dead in the tragedy in Kemerovo, a coal-producing region about 3,600 km (2,200 miles) east of Moscow. As well as grief, the fire has stirred public anger about apparent failures in fire safety standards at the mall. Putin, re-elected last weekend, arrived at the scene on Tuesday and laid flowers at a makeshift memorial to the victims of … [Read more...] about Russia’s Putin visits scene of deadly shopping mall fire

12:08 | 20/03/2018 VGP - General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong sent a congratulatory message to Vladimir Putin on his re-election as President of Russia. Vladimir Putin is re-elected as President of Russia Vladimir Putin is set for another six years in power after winning a record election performance with 76.66% of the vote held on March 18. … [Read more...] about Party chief congratulates re-elected President V. Putin

In the record two-hour speech, Putin used multi-media to show off Russia's newest strategic weapons, described as capable of penetrating any U.S. defense systems. He also promised to boost the country's economy and improve living standards in the years to come. Putin will compete with seven other presidential candidates in the election slated for March 18 and he is widely expected to win with a landslide given his high approval ratings. While some of Putin's political rivals blamed him for using the opportunity to deliver his election program, chairwoman of the Russian Central Election Commission Ella Pamfilova said she found no element of campaigning. MILITARY STRENGTH Russia has been modernizing its strategic arsenal in response to the U.S. global deployment of missile defense systems, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. "Russia has created and is upgrading relatively cheap but very efficient systems to overcome missile shields," Putin said in his … [Read more...] about Spotlight: Putin flexes muscle in annual address ahead of election

Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: AFP/Getty Images) Putin’s public support is much higher than that of any other candidate, such as the 6% of Vladimir Zhirinovsky of the Liberal Democratic Party or the 7% of Pavel Grudinin of the Communist Party. There appears to be no candidate who can stop Putin from winning another term as Russian President. … [Read more...] about Russia presidential election: Putin claims majority public support

By AFP &nbspFebruary 13, 2018 | 10:19 am GMT+7 A photo taken on May 6, 2017 shows Saratov Airlines airline plane An-148 with a tail number of RA-61704 on an airstrip at Moscow's Domodedovo international airport outside Moscow. Photo by AFP/Marina Lystseva Trump spoke with Putin to 'express his condolences regarding the crash of Saratov Airlines Flight 703.'​ U.S. President Donald Trump called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday to offer his condolences after a deadly plane crash near Moscow, a White House official said. The call between the two leaders -- who are at the center of an FBI investigation into Moscow's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election -- took place after a plane crashed minutes after takeoff from Domodedovo airport, killing all 71 people on board. Trump spoke with Putin to "express his condolences regarding the crash of Saratov Airlines Flight 703 on February 11," the White House said, offering its account of the … [Read more...] about Trump offers Putin condolences over plane crash​

Putin said they also talked about the Israeli-Palestinian settlement, adding that the situation in the region is far from the one that they would like to see. He said that Russia has always supported the Palestinian people. Putin and Abbas met in Moscow on Monday. President Abbas has refused to contact Trump’s administration or cooperate in any form with the US in its status as mediator. He will attend the UN Security Council's Middle East meeting next Tuesday. … [Read more...] about Putin: Russia always supports Palestinian people

According to a White House statement, Trump expressed his condolences over the crash of Saratov Airlines Flight 703 on Sunday (Feb.11), saying the United States was standing by to assist Russian authorities in the investigation. The Russian airliner carrying 71 people crashed shortly after taking off from Moscow, killing all the 65 passengers and 6 crew members on board. In response, Trump said that it is now time to work toward an enduring peace agreement. The Trump administration in December announced its recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, saying it plans to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to the city that the Palestinians also claimed as its capital. The decision has sparked global condemnation. In response, Washington suspended its funding for Palestinian refugees in a bid to force Palestine to accept U.S.-deliberated peace plan in Middle East, which was rejected by the Palestinian side. During the Monday conversation, Trump and Putin also … [Read more...] about Trump, Putin speak over phone on plane crash, Middle East

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed to strengthen coordination between the two countries' military and security services in Syria in the fight against terrorism, the Kremlin said in a statement.Putin and Erdogan, in a telephone conversation, also discussed the prospects for new contacts between Russia, Turkey and Iran on Syria, the statement said. … [Read more...] about Putin, Erdogan discuss military coordination in Syria – Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin (Source: AFP/VNA) About 67 per cent of Russian citizens tend to take part in the voting, among which 81.1 per cent of the people would support Putin, according to a special research project launched by VTSIOM for the 2018 presidential elections. The first round will be held on March 18th. If in the first round no candidate attains an absolute majority of the votes (more than half), then according to the law, a second round will take place exactly three weeks later, on April 8th. On December 28th, Russia’s central election commission (CEC) accepted documents from Vladimir Putin to register him as a candidate in the presidential ballot next March. Earlier, the incumbent, President Putin, announced that he will seek re-election for a second consecutive term and fourth term overall. Putin is widely expected to win, and has consistently scored higher than 40%, and often much higher, in opinion polls since the last presidential election. The upcoming … [Read more...] about Russian presidential election: Putin likely to win presidential race

Speaking to workers at a factory in Tver, northwest of Moscow, Putin said the long-expected hike of the minimum wage to the so-called subsistence level, or poverty line, will happen in May, quicker than previously planned.A person needs to earn at least the subsistence level "to have a chance to live on this wage, and if that's not the case it is not normal," said Putin, who is widely expected to win in the election on Mar 18.He said he proposed increasing the minimum wage on May 1 of this year.Currently the minimum wage in Russia is 9,489 roubles a month (US$166), while the poverty line is at 11,163 roubles a month (US$196).The change would affect "about four million people," Putin said.In a highly choreographed visit, Putin also said he would look into expediting building a bridge in the city across the Volga River and acted surprised when one worker offered to help in his presidential campaign."I didn't expect that. Thank you very much," Putin told the worker.Factory workers are … [Read more...] about Putin promises minimum wage hike ahead of election